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Characteristics of visual interference with visuospatial working memory

M Toms¹, N Morris, P Foley

¹Psychology Division, School of Health Sciences, University of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, UK.

British Journal of Psychology (London, England : 1953)

|February 1, 1994

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Irrelevant visual input disrupts spatial memory storage, suggesting a passive visual buffer in working memory. This effect occurs even with simple static images, impacting spatial tasks more than verbal ones.

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience

Background:

Visuospatial working memory may include a passive visual buffer.
Previous research on visual interference has yielded mixed results.
Irrelevant visual stimuli can disrupt visuospatial processing.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if irrelevant visual input disrupts storage in a spatial working memory task.
To explore the characteristics of this disruption.

Main Methods:

Two experiments using the Brooks spatial matrix task.
Exposure to irrelevant visual stimuli during encoding and retention intervals.
Comparison of spatial and verbal versions of the task.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

Irrelevant visual input selectively disrupted performance on the spatial task, not the verbal task.

Disruption was independent of visual complexity, similarity, or change.

Disruption occurred even when visual stimuli were presented only during a retention interval.

Conclusions:

External visual material gains obligatory access to a passive visual buffer.
These findings support a model of visuospatial working memory with a distinct visual buffer.